T&P Warehouse owner has new partner for project

An apartment, hotel and restaurant are among proposed features of a redeveloped Texas and Pacific (T&P) Warehouse, illustrated by renderings presented to the Lancaster Tax Increment Funding (TIF) Board on Wednesday.

The long-delayed T&P Warehouse redevelopment came before the board to present plans for the eight-story, 580,000 square-foot structure and for the owners to introduce a new development partner. Dallas investor Ola Assem’s Cleopatra Investments bought the T&P in 1998. The development has received approval from the TIF board for up to $11 million in funding, but plans for the project have been delayed.

David Vos, development project manager for Wisconsin-based developer The Alexander Company, said his company executed an agreement with Cleopatra in June. He showed the TIF board a series of renderings showing what the T&P Warehouse could look like in the future.

The plan includes 260 units of apartment, a hotel and restaurant. The garage spaces on the ground floor will be used for retail, and the south side of the building will have parking, Vos said.

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Visitors should be able to drive through the building as well, similar to the drive through at Montgomery Plaza, he said.

He said there are also plans for a rooftop pool that will be used by those living in the apartments, as well as plans to add lighting to the sides of the building.

The $11 million from the TIF should be enough to fund the first phase of the project, which includes the apartments, hotel and retail, Vos said.

He said he could not disclose the total cost of the redevelopment.

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For the project to move forward, Cleopatra will need to present financial documents to the TIF board, showing the “financial viability to complete the project,” said Jungus Jordan, city councilman for District 6 and chair of the Lancaster TIF board.

Cleopatra will need to present these documents by Dec. 14, he said.

If the plan moves forward, Vos said he expects construction to begin in 2016.

TIF is one of the city’s methods of financing infrastructure projects. Fort Worth has several areas designated as “TIF districts” that are eligible to receive TIF funding, one of which is the Lancaster corridor. Each TIF district has its own board of directors who discuss projects within their respective areas.

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Built in 1931, the T&P Warehouse is an eight-story, 580,000 square-foot building located on the southwest corner of West Lancaster Avenue and Jennings Avenue.

In March, Preservation Texas named the T&P Warehouse among the list of 2015 Most Endangered Places. The building was at risk of being demolished due to neglect, according to a news release.

Jordan, a longtime proponent of the T&P Warehouse redevelopment, said he’s excited to see the renderings. However, having been discussing the project since 2007, he is ready to see it actually happen.

“Hopefully we don’t sound too impatient,” he said. “But it’s been a long time.”

Nadeem Assem of Cleopatra Investments was originally meant to present before the board but canceled his appearance due to illness.